The Chase

A no-nonsense detective is on the trail of the sharpest and deadliest criminal mind he has ever encountered: a serial robber who murders any and all witnesses in cold-blood.

quick easy listen

This was an entertaining story as most Cussler books are: very defined bad guys going up against our James Bond like good guy. However, the story is ..Show More »implausible and there are some parts that could just be cut out. Also, I found the characters a bit undeveloped and hard to like. Finally, the narrator, Scott Brick, has done some excellent work in the past, but in this book, he is much too melodramatic. If you're looking for a light, fun listen this is a good choice.

The Chase

April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine nor its grisly contents that interest the people watching nearby. It is what is about to come next.... 1906: For two years, the western states of America have been suffering an extraordinary crime spree: a string of bank robberies by a single man who then cold-bloodedly murders any and all witnesses, and then vanishes without a trace....

The Wrecker

It is 1907, a year of financial panic and labor unrest. Train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line and, desperate, the railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn sends in his best man, and Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur haunts the hobo jungles of the West, a man known as the Wrecker, who recruits accomplices from the down-and-out to attack the railroad, and then kills them afterward.

A Must Listen

The Wrecker is one of those stories that makes you feel like you are there. The narrator has done a masterful job of depicting all the varied charact..Show More »ers in this story. Wonderfully done!

The Spy: An Isaac Bell Adventure

It is 1908, and international tensions are mounting as the world plunges toward war. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide, the man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder.

Great crime mystery

Scott Brick does another outstanding job as a multi-voiced narrator... he's simply the best. As for the book, another Clive Cussler (and Justin Scott..Show More ») work of art. Incredible research into the history of naval operations, New York and Washington D.C. in circa 1905 which are the setting for this crime mystery of the time. Interesting, suspenseful, outstanding characters (which only Brick can bring to life) and a great story to boot. Loved the book!

The Race: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 4

It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than 50 days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates - an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost - and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in.

Up, Up, Josephine...

This is the fourth installment in a series that I have truly enjoyed since the beginning. Isaac Bell is a typical Cussler-style hero. Tall, good looki..Show More »ng, green-eyed, chivalrous, clean cut, and really, really lucky (never gets hurt really badly, and always overcomes the obstacles that the bad guys throw his way); however, Sherlock Holmes he is not!

The usual five-star rating for the storyline dropped one notch this time, because Isaac's character was slow to realize the identity of one of the bad guys that he had direct contact with throughout the story. Just doesn't seem believable that the Chief Investigator for the premier detective agency of the time would be that unobservant.

The terminology used by the characters seems to be true to the period; however, I got really tired of hearing "on the jump" (meaning, do it quickly). Not sure why this bothered me. I suppose I expected a broader period-specific vocabulary from the characters.

The story is very creative and enjoyable. A few additional threads to follow, but all are tied together quite well.

Scott Brick gave another excellent narration performance. Some of the dialects were a little unpolished, but I relate his voice with Clive Cussler stories, so as long as he's doing the performance, he gets a lot of slack from me. If you want to lose a Cussler audiobook fan, change narrators. Scott is irreplaceable.

Justin Scott has a fifth book "The Thief" due out on 3-6-2012. I'm really looking forward to listening to it!

The Thief: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 5

On the ocean liner Mauretania, two European scientists with a dramatic new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency's intrepid chief investigator, Isaac Bell. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky the second time. The thugs attack again - and this time, one of the scientists dies.

The Review: An Issac Bell Piece

After the intensity of 'The Wrecker' and the adventure of 'The Race' this installation had some big shoes to fill. It fell somewhat flat, speculation ..Show More »leads me to believe the publisher pressured the writers to expunge sections to keep the book shorter. If that is the case then shame on them. I feel the villain was not as well developed as he could have been something I have really enjoyed from this series. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed this book, I mean if you read the last four books your certainly can't stop now. As always great period tech and very accurate history.

The Striker: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 6

It is 1902, and a bright, inexperienced young man named Isaac Bell, only two years out of his apprenticeship at the Van Dorn Detective Agency, has an urgent message for his boss. Hired to hunt for radical unionist saboteurs in the coal mines, he is witness to a terrible accident that makes him think that something else is going on, that provocateurs are at work and bigger stakes are in play. Little does he know just how big they are. Given exactly one week to prove his case, Bell quickly finds himself pitted against two of the most ruthless opponents he has ever known.

Excellent, really enjoyed this one.

The striker does very well against the other Cussler books, it's probably the best Isaac bell book so far.

The Bootlegger: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 7

When Isaac Bell’s boss and lifelong friend Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed leading the high-speed chase of a rum-running vessel, Bell swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers, but he doesn’t know what he is getting into. When a witness to Van Dorn’s shooting is executed in a ruthlessly efficient manner invented by the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these are no ordinary criminals. Bell is up against a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs - and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States.

Great story - Fun reading - Cussler is the champ

This is another great story set in the early 1900's. Back when booze was not. a fun story by cussler, back in the day

The Assassin: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 8

As Van Dorn private detective Isaac Bell strives to land a government contract to investigate John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil monopoly, the case takes a deadly turn. A sniper begins murdering opponents of Standard Oil, and soon the assassin - shooting with extraordinary accuracy at seemingly impossible long range - kills Bell's best witness, a brave and likable man. Then the shooter detonates a terrible explosion that sets the victim's independent refinery ablaze.